August 5
A Canaanite
Woman’s Faith
Gospel:
Matthew 15:21-28
Today's Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28 (A Canaanite
Woman’s Faith)
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region
of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that
vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!
My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a
word. So, his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she
keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost
sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!”
she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and
toss it to the dogs.” “Yes, it is, Lord,” she said.
“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus
said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Reflection:
Today the Church marks the dedication of one of
Rome's oldest churches, built in honor of Our Lady, Saint Mary Major, a fitting
day to notice that today's Gospel is entirely about a mother who will not stop
asking Jesus for her child. A Canaanite woman, an outsider by every measure the
disciples cared about, chases Jesus down the road, crying out for her daughter,
absorbing what looks almost like silence and then a hard word about dogs and
crumbs, and never once letting go. She kept asking Jesus anyway.
That's what it looks like to intercede for someone you love. It doesn’t seem
polite or even tidy. It's a woman refusing to be waved off because her child's
suffering matters more to her than her own dignity.
Our Lady has been doing exactly that for the whole human race since the day she
stood at the foot of the cross. Every basilica raised in her name, including
the one the Church honors today, exists because generations of Christians
recognized a mother who never stops interceding, never stops asking on our
behalf, the way that the Canaanite woman never stopped asking for her daughter.
Great is thy faith, Jesus told her. Not because she said the right words, but
because she refused to leave empty-handed.
Who are you still asking Jesus to heal, even after it feels like silence,
and He doesn’t hear you? Don’t stop praying; Jesus hears every word and every
prayer. He knows your heart; God’s Will, will be done.
Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
